Last Tampa Cigar Factory for the NYT

I’d been driving past these old cigar factories in Tampa since I’ve lived here, having no idea what they were or how much history they had in the area until I got a call from Tanner Curtis, a very talented editor at the NYT.

Stepping into the last cigar factory was like taking a step back in time, quite literally. I mean, when was the last time you saw an ashtray in a urinal stall- an ashtray that people still use. Still, it didn’t get any nicer than the people I worked with at the J.C. Newman Cigar Company. It’s a family-owned business that’s been around for 119 years.